Coinbase Announces Strategic Investment from Westpac’s Reinventure

Back at the beginning of the year, Coinbase reported a major investment of $75 million from a crew of investors including BBVA Ventures, USAA Bank and the New York Stock Exchange among several others.

We now know that one of those other investors was Reinventure Group, the venture capital arm of Westpac Banking Corporation.

The Coinbase blog today reported today the bitcoin company had earned a strategic investment from the Australia-based venture-capital firm that specializes in fintech startups. Coinbase says it hopes the partnership will help the company “bring bitcoin to new markets around the world.” No dollar figure was mentioned in the announcement.

A representative from Westpac said that the investment would yield “key insights into the use of digital currencies and associated technologies.” The rep also praised Coinbase’s “heavy” investment in “next generation security” as the best way to fulfill its mission of being “the most trusted bitcoin company in the world.”

(Left to right): Business Development Managers Nahid Samsami and Roger Gu demonstrated Coinbase Instant Exchange at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

Coinbase specializes in enabling merchants to receive bitcoin payments without having to worry about the digital currency’s tendency toward price volatility. Coinbase holds more than one million digital wallets, and helps more than 28,000 merchants in more than 25 countries accept payments in bitcoin.